Origin

Origin

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Creators

Contents

History

All my life, every time I've ever believed in anything, or had faith that the future would get better for me, I've had that false hope knocked out of me... and found myself back on my knees in despair. I have nothing left to believe in or to live for... not even myself.Nick, give me your gun.Goodbye, Nick.

As part of their own long-term plans, the Fury brothers kept the existence of the Jake Fury LMD a secret. The real Jake Fury went underground for many years after the Great Wheel dissolved, while his LMD became increasingly erratic. As a result, a good deal of insane or criminal actions committed by the LMD were attributed to Jake Fury over the years.[2]

Zodiac Cartel

Some time after the Great Wheel dissolved, Jake's LMD was approached by Cornelius van Lunt, alias Taurus, who asked him to join the Zodiac Cartel. At this time, Jake had also acquired the Zodiac Key, an ancient and powerful weapon that recognized the darkness inside of him. Jake used this as his primary weapon as a member of the Zodiac and created several false identities to hide himself from the world, like that of the champion racer Count Julio Scarlotti.[3]

As Scorpio, Jake made numerous attacks on his brother and S.H.I.E.L.D., hiding his true identity from Nick.[4] After a disastrous encounter, Jake lost his Zodiac Key to Nick, who used it to impersonate him as Scorpio for a brief time in order to bring down the Cartel.[5] Scorpio was expelled from the cartel for his failures after this, and replaced with a new Scorpion, Jacques laPoint.[6]

Life-Model Decoy

The Life-Model Decoy of Jake later had a complete mental breakdown. Still in possession of the Zodiac Key, Jake decided to create a new Zodiac to replace the one that abandoned him, using SHIELD LMD technology to do so. At this point in his life, "Jake" was unaware that he was an LMD himself. He had taken possession of a Nick Fury LMD, who served as a sounding board for his mad plans and a replacement for his estranged brother. Scorpio got into a confrontation with the Defenders. He demanded Kyle Richmond pay a random for their kidnapped friend Jack Norriss so that he could have the funds necessary to complete his army of Zodiac androids. Moon Knight tracked Scorpio down to his "theater of genetics" and was captured and left to die in a tank filled with water. At the same time, Nighthawk gave in and arrived in Washington to hand over the ransom to Scorpio, who reneged on the deal. When Nighthawk tried to attack, Scorpio blasts him with the Zodiac Key.[7]

The Moon Knight escaped, but Scorpio now had Nighthawk as his hostage as well. The Defenders decided that they would need the Hulk's help in order to free Nighthawk. They tricked the green giant into following them to Scorpio's base, but they arrive too late, as Scorpio had activated his android Zodiac army.[8]

The Defenders battled Scorpio's LMD Zodiac army, and with the added boost of the Hulk, the recently freed Nighthawk and Moon Knight on their side, the Defenders gained the upper hand and seemingly destroyed the Zodiac androids set against them. Wrought with despair over his loss, Scorpio orders the LMD of Nick Fury to hand him a gun, and promptly shot himself in the head.[9]

New Scorpio

Jake Fury rose again after this, resurrected by the power of the Zodiac Key and fully conscious of his status as a Life Model Decoy. He succeeded in creating his next batch of Zodiac LMDs, and battled the Avengers.[10]

Next, Jake disposed of Jacques LaPoint and infiltrated the original Zodiac Cartel. His LMDs disposed of the human cartel, assuming their resources to become the only Zodiac Cartel. Scorpio led the Zodiac in a series of raids across the country, unaware he was feeding the Zodiac Key's desire for conflict instead of his own hunger for power. Scorpio arranged for two new LMDs to infiltrate the West Coast Avengers disguised as Hawkeye and Tigra, but both were eventually discovered. Scorpio finally overreached himself by ordering the Key to transport them all to the Key's home dimension. There, it was discovered that the astrologically powered Zodiac LMDs could not function, and so Jake Fury and his Cartel deactivated.[11]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

As a Life Model Decoy, Jake Fury was stronger and more durable than a human being.

For a time, the Zodiac Key gave him the ability to transform into water, even if he was physically separated from it.[12]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Used costumes equipped with venom blasts and neurotoxic gas sprays.

Weapons

Zodiac Key: The Key is an extra-dimensional device that can project powerful blasts of an unknown energy, erect force shields, and create clone bodies or android duplicates of its possessor and allow him to turn his body into water.[13][14][15][16]

Notes

The identity of Zodiac's first Scorpio was a mystery that underwent repeated retcons and contradictory reports over the years:

Scorpio debuted in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 as a mysterious figure. One scene alleged he was a man named Count Julio Scarlotti, but did not explicitly confirm it. The criminal seemingly died in a crash at issue's end.

Scorpio returned in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5, claiming the Zodiac Key protected him from the crash, allowing him to survive. Scorpio was unmasked at the end of the issue, but only Nick Fury saw his face before he was killed in a hail of gunfire.

In Avengers #72, Nick Fury infiltrated the Zodiac Cartel in the guise of Scorpio, and revealed to Captain America that the previous Scorpio had been his brother, Jake Fury.

Jake Fury returned in Defenders and detailed his origins in Defenders #49. Jake claimed another man had been the first Scorpio, and he found the Zodiac Key before Nick Fury #5 to claim the identity as his own. He was vague about how he escaped death at the end of that issue, and then committed suicide in Defenders #50 when his plans failed.

Scorpio returned in the body of a Life Model Decoy and in possession of the Zodiac Key again in West Coast Avengers Vol 2 #26. Tying everything together, Scorpio and the sentient Key revealed Jake Fury had always been Scorpio. The Key saved him from near-death in Nick Fury #1, but shrouded his memory of the event to prevent psychological trauma, making him believe it happened to someone else. The Key resurrected him again after Nick Fury #5 as an LMD, but again hid his memory of the process. Finally, after Jake was revived following Defenders #50, the Key allowed him to retain his full memories and knowledge that he was a Life Model Decoy.

Decades later, Scorpio was revisited again in Secret Warriors #26 with the idea that Jake Fury encountered Rennaissance technology in the 1960's, creating a doppelganger of him that acted as a prototype of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Life Model Decoy technology. It was this unstable copy of Jake Fury, and not the original, who apparently encountered the Key and worked with the Zodiac all along.